The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-02-23
Correspondence.
TENANT FARMING.
s~traiehtout Tells How it Works, or
Don't Work, in the Blues Gulley
Section.

PROGRESSIVE FARMER to tell your
readers about the third method of
farming followed in these parts. |
told something of the plans of doing
the work yourself and the crop lien
or "order" system, both very popu-
lar, but reserved the third, or tenant
system, for this letter. When the
war ended in 1865 and the negroes
were looking around for huts and
small places for themselves, many
of the farmers fell on the plan Of
building log huts in out-ofthe-way
places and in the corner of old
fields and settling a negro family in
each of these houses who were to
work out the rent by labor on the
farm or to pay a fourth of the crop
they made as rent. Some of
land and it dawned on them that
they could live happily and without
work by arranging for the settle
ment Of some hundred or two
tenants. All they would have to do
would be to send around once. a
year and collect their part Of the
different crops. This was a delusion
and Il dream as subsequent events,
or rather results, Don revealed.
Still it was pleasant to contemplate
and therefore it vas extensively
contemplated, so much so that a
respectable number Of farmers still
follow this method, and it has
greatly tended to the poverty of the
State, though we think this method
will turn out better and better as
the reaches, yellow bellies and cat
fish in our creeks and mill ponds
decrease. Not one negro in a hun
dred will work during fishing season
and unfortunately these fishes bite
best at the very time corn and
cotton need work. They have fished
and fished till there are now few
fish in any Of our ponds and swamps
big enough to swallow a pin hook.
[ have seen colored men in this
section leave home in May or June
with a dozen worms and a pOne of
bread in their pockets and fish all
day to catch three reaches and an
eel. This seemed to satisfy them
perfectly, and in these fishing sea-
sons the number of fishermen on
any of our creek banks is limited
only by the extent of vacant places
on the creeks where one can get a
line in the water. Should Senator
Ransom ever. finish cleaning out
Neuse River and then get an appro-
priation and send his
relatives down here and cut the
brush from the banks of Mad Gallop
Creek, all u tenant farmers, white
and black, would spend April, May,
June and July fishing. So, Mr..
Editor, if you have any influence in
Congress please try to prevent put
ting fish eggs in u creek and see
that no appropriation is made
toward cleaning up fishing stands
for the negroes as [ hear is now
being done in other parts. Our
creek, like Crab Tree near the Capt.
tai, can never become a navigable
stream for large ships. When all
the fish and game are dead, tenant
farming may become a reasonable
and profitable way of farming.
[ soon became Disguised with
tenant farming. The first time [
tried it was in 1866 and [ was
induced to do so by my neighbors.
l furnished a man and his family,
who had the reputation Of being
pious, Industrious and honest, with
a good farm of 1873 acres, a good
house and a good horse, and gave
him a letter of credit to my COM
mission merchant. He promised to
be economical and saving, and, as |
was often away attending to other
business, [ trusted him implicitly.
At the end Of the year l was $500
in debt. My merchants bill amount
ed to $500, principally for meat-my
tenant was an enormous meat eater.
1t was not unusual for him to eat
three pounds of Western pork a
day. He dearly loved Western meat.
thought it far better than North
Carolina bacon. The poor fellow is
dead now, and | really fear he never
got another full and satisfactory
meal Of pork after / quit tenant
farming. | rented my farm out the
next year and came very near not
getting any rent for it. My renter
sold his crop and made off with the
money, all but about $50. Since
then concluded either tn fry NV